Before your first journal, choose a start month and the balance sheet accounts ScaleXP will post to. Complete the sections for the journals you use and skip the rest.

1. Pick a start month

1. Choose the first day of any month. It can be in the past or the future; you do not need to wait for year end.
2. You will enter this as the Journal Start Date in Setup 2.

2. Prepayments

Skip this section if you don't use prepayments.

1. In Xero or QuickBooks, create a dedicated prepayments balance sheet account, for example Prepaid expenses ScaleXP. It starts from zero, so there is nothing to reconcile; your old account runs down through your current process.
2. Decide how to code prepaid bills from your start month:
   • To the prepayments account: ScaleXP knows the bill is a prepayment. You choose the expense account it releases to.
   • To the expense account: you confirm each prepayment in Prepayments 1, and mark bills from before your start month as excluded.
3. Add the service period to each bill line description, for example "1 Jan - 31 Dec 2026" or "annual". ScaleXP reads these to spread the cost. See How ScaleXP reads dates.

Keeping your existing account instead? Make sure every open prepayment is in ScaleXP before your first journal; see How to reconcile your prepayments balance. For coding help, see How should I code my bills?

3. Accruals

Skip this section if you don't use accruals.

1. In Xero or QuickBooks, create a dedicated accrued expenses liability account, for example Accrued expenses ScaleXP. Your existing accruals keep reversing under your current process.
2. Keeping your existing account instead? Confirm or add each open accrual in Accruals before your first journal, so both systems start from the same balance.